In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

Pumpkin Gooey: This variation has to be at the top of my list, especially around Thanksgiving. For the cake part, I sometimes use a spice cake mix. I have even used a chocolate cake mix, but I think my favorite is the basic yellow cake mix. Follow the original recipe, adding a 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, and allow to cool. Cut into squares and top each square with a pecan half. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I promise you'll never want pumpkin pie again!

Pineapple Gooey: Add a 20-ounce can of drained crushed pineapple and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

Lemon Gooey: Use a lemon cake mix in place of the yellow cake. Add the juice (approximately 1/4 cup) and zest of 2 lemons to the cream cheese filling. Proceed: as directed above.

The confectioners sugar definitely makes the filling layer. If I measure out the confectioners sugar instead of using the box it doesn't come out right. My kids love the Pumpkin and PB Gooey Butter cakes and ask for them for their birthdays.

__________________"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ~Winston S. Churchill

That sounds like a delicious cake Carolyn. I'm sure Kevin will come up with a reasonable substitute. Powdered E in place of the confectioners is a definite need. How much confectioners sugar is in a box? - a pound? That's a lot of carbs!

Lisa: The "filling" really seems like cream cheese butter frosting with eggs to hold it together. So, I think that is the tricky part..

No it's not like frosting-it's more like a cheesecake and when I measure out the conf sugar instead of using the box it's runny. I make this all the time-my kids just luv this-it's a Paula Deen recipe.

__________________"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ~Winston S. Churchill